Denise Brown, sister of Nicole Brown Simpson tours the county to speak out about domestic violence

Denise brown has been forced to relive her sister Nicole Brown Simpson's killing many times over the past 22 years, but she turned her family’s pain into a positive by traveling the country to talk about domestic violence.

"It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, gay or lesbian, Democrat or Republican, it doesn't matter what religion you are domestic violence can affect you,” Brown said.

Brown traveled to Sugarland Thursday to speak at the Fort Bend Women’s Center annual luncheon as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Brown’s brush with abuse played out very publicly during the O.J. Simpson murder trial in 1995, where she testified about various incidents in which she claimed Simpson was abusive toward her sister.

However, Brown said she wasn’t aware of the extent of the abuse until after her sister’s death, when their father found her diary.

"I ended up taking those notes and diaries and throwing them back on the bed, going 'This is not possible.' Because Nicole and I, we were so close, that there was no way she could have not told us," Brown said. 

With the recent popularity of FX’s “The People Versus O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” and various documentaries about the murder, Brown recognizes there has been a renewed interest in her sister’s story.

Something she concedes, that is both difficult and beneficial to her cause of spreading awareness.

"You never forget,” Brown said of her sister’s death. “Especially with everything in the media. They don't let you forget. In a way it's a bad thing, because you sit there and you just go 'Really? Again?' But in another way, it brings the issue of domestic violence to the forefront."

Last year, 132 women died in the state of Texas as a result of domestic violence.

The Fort Bend Women’s Center provides a 24-hour crisis telephone hotline, an emergency shelter, counseling, and both legal and medical support.

If you or someone you know is a victim of abuse, contact the crisis hotline at (281) 342-HELP (4357).